Education Editorial: Bah Humbug

Well "bah humbug" is alive and well in Little Rock, Arkansas. Ebenezer Scrooge may have declared Christmas a fraud, but Charles Dickens persuaded him to see the error of his ways in a journey through the Christmas Carol.

Another Charles, but Schultz this time, carried his lovable cartoon character, Charlie Brown, through a similar quest to sort through commercialism to find the true origin of Christmas. Since 1965 this story has touched, as noted by Wikipedia, on "the over-commercialization and secularism of Christmas and serves to remind viewers of its true meaning (The birth of Christ).

It seems that the Agape Church in Little Rock was producing "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown" and Terry Elementary School had scheduled to bring its students. A letter went home telling parents that their children would be exposed to Christianity and that they could opt-out if they wanted. But a Mom who preferred to object, but remain anonymous called the Arkansas Society of Free Thinkers, atheist, and they took up the cause.

While the Principal, Superintendent and Board supported the field trip, the Agape Church and its pastor, Happy Caldwell, made an unexpected decision as the December 14 performance approached: "Because of what this issue has become, as a church it is not our desire to put hard-working teachers and cast members in harms way."

In harms way? This is unbelievable! The alleged wall that some believe separates church from state is now a wall that separates the church from common sense. The Grinch has nothing on Pastor ""Happy", he stole Christmas and Charlie Brown with one retreat.